The Divine-Appointed Authority of Jesus – Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

 As we continue to read Sunday Gospels in Ordinary Time, reflecting on Jesus in his public ministry, there is Christological revelation about him. In the Gospel Reading for the 4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, Mark 1:15-20, it is the authority of Jesus.

We started a liturgical year on the First Sunday of Advent and spent the Advent season to prepare ourselves to encounter the progressive revelation of the mystery of the incarnation of Christ, the Son. At the Nativity of Christ, we recognize the incarnated Christ in the newborn baby in swaddling clothes, placed in a manger. Through the Christmas Season, we reflected on the growth of this baby born to poverty, from age 0 to age 30. Then, we began following the incarnated Christ in the human flesh of Jesus in his public ministry, as we started Ordinary Time.

The Theos-Logos incarnated in the human flesh of Jesus in Mary’s womb at Annunciation.  Nine months later, Jesus was born of Mary. He was circumcised on the 8^th day and given name, Jesus. He was presented to God after 40 days of Mary’s postpartum purification and recognized as Christ by Simeon and Anna. He was visited by the Magi from the east, as they recognized as the newborn King of Israel. To be safe from Herod the Great’s massacre of children of age 2 and under, Joseph took Jesus and Mary to Egypt and stayed there until Herod’s death, as advised by the angel of the Lord. Upon returning to Nazareth from Egypt, Jesus grew up in the house of Mary and Joseph. When he was 12, he was separated from Mary and Joseph for 3 days, during their visit to the Temple in Jerusalem for Passover, but he was found.  When he was 30, Jesus made himself appear to the public as he came to John the Baptist to be baptized to begin his pubic ministry. After his Baptism, led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus came to the wilderness to fast for 40 days and nights and fended off temptations set by Satan. Upon this, Jesus began recruiting his disciples and his public ministry in Galilee.

For the last two consecutive Sundays, as we began Ordinary Time, the Gospel Readings (John 1:35-42; Mark 1:14-20) reflected Jesus calling for disciples and how the first batch of the disciples responded to the call and started following him. According to Mark, Jesus initiated his public ministry in Galilee with his proclamation of the Gospel of God, calling repent for conversion from sinfulness, reiterating the teaching of John the Baptist to be entitled to the Kingdom of God, which was already imminent. And, the public ministry of Jesus was already in progress to establish the Kingdom, which symbolizes the salvation upon the redemption.

In the Gospel Reading for the 4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B  (Mark 1: 21-28 ), Jesus, along with the first batch of his disciples, came to the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath . And, in the synagogue, Jesus taught as one having authority and not as the scribes (v.22). While he was teaching with authority, a man possessed by an unclean spirit cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”(v. 24). The voice was actually from the unclean spirit in the possessed man. It seemed that everyone else did not recognize the authority of Jesus yet at that moment. However, the unclean spirit in the possessed man recognized who Jesus really was, both as a man (Jesus of Nazareth) and as God (the Holy One of God), before anyone else would. Then, Jesus commanded the unclean spirit, “Quiet! Come out of him!”(v. 25), and it came out. Seeing Jesus’ authority over demon, the people in the synagogue were so amazed, saying to one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him”(v.27), recognizing the authority in Jesus.

Note the contrast between demon (unclean spirit) and people in their reaction to Jesus’ presence. Demon immediately recognized Jesus both as human and as divine, while people did not. They recognize the authority of Jesus upon his exorcism on the possessed man. As people recognized Jesus’ authority, they began wondering who Jesus was and what his authority in his teaching and over demon was.

The way the unclean spirit reacted to Jesus tells that demon was disturbed by the presence of Jesus. Demons must remember what God said in Genesis 3:15: Christ will destroy Satan. Thus, demon must have felt threatened by Jesus, who is the Christ incarnate, who was sent by the Father to fulfill Genesis 3:15 in Revelation 20:1-10. For demon, he must remain vigilant of Christ’s presence as it is a matter of survival for Satan. God the Father sent Christ as he is incarnated in the human flesh of Jesus to save us and deliver us from the snare of Satan into the Kingdom of God. And, the authority of Jesus is for these two missions: saving us and destroying Satan.

Demon immediately recognized Jesus both as human and divine. But, people were just amazed by his authority over demon and in his teaching. Their amazement did not necessitate their recognition of Jesus as Christ.

So, what is an important take-home theme from this Gospel Reading?

Ever since the First Sunday of Advent, we have been reflecting on who Jesus really is and now in Ordinary Time, through his public ministry.

How do we recognize the authority of Jesus?

Our recognition of the authority of Jesus is of critical importance in our faith in Christ. Believing in Christ also means believing the authority of Jesus, given by the one who sent him to us, namely God the Father in heaven (i.e. John 5:26-27; 7:16; 10:18). And, as prophesized by Isaiah (61:1-2), the authority of Jesus is reflected in his divine appointment through the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18-19). Thus, the authority of Jesus is not of human origin. In fact, his divine authority is over everything in God’s creation, both on earth and in heaven (Matthew 28:18), as the King of the Universe. Thus, the authority in the Gospel Reading (Mark 1:21-28) is his authority not limited to his teaching and exorcism but everything on earth and in heaven.

The authority of Jesus was also prophesized by Moses, as the First Reading (Deuteronomy 18:15-20). As his death drew near, Moses told the Israelites that God will raise a new prophet with the divine authority (v.15, v. 18), and he was speaking of Christ. Moses also warned of a false prophet, who has no divine authority (vv.19-20). Thus, Moses reminds us in the First Reading that we must listen to the prophet with the divine authority, namely Christ in Jesus. And, it is important that we correctly recognize the divine authority when we listen and follow. In fact, Moses himself had the authority given by God.

God has also given the authority through Christ to his apostles. And, Paul is one of them. In the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 7:32-35), Paul, with the divinely appointed authority through Christ, calls us to be free from worldly concerns and anxieties to be authentic disciples of Christ. So, if one is so overwhelmed with issues on marriage, Paul says that it is rather better to  be celibate, as celibacy allows us to devote to our God-given missions, free from all these worries and anxieties on marriage and family, thus making our respective mission works as apostles more authentic. This enables our mission works to reflect the authority of Jesus better, as he remained celibate himself.

Do we see the authority of Jesus? And how well is Jesus’ authority reflected in us? It depends on how free we are from worldly concerns.

Let us stay tuned with the divine-appointed authority of Jesus as we will continue following him in his public ministry.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor of the Church to Offer Inoculation for the Word Sickened by Secular Modernism

 St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), a Dominican priest theologian and Aristotelian philosopher, is an intellectual giant both in theology and philosophy. His thinking is known as the thomism in theology and the neo-scholasticism in Philosophy. What makes Aquinas’ thinking so unique is attributed to his abilities to apply authentic Aristotelian paradigm into theology so that faith and reason can dialogue to bring forth both rational and empirical appreciation of faith and other theological concepts. As Angelic Doctor of the Church, he is an intellectual pillar of the Church, and thomistic theological thinking continues to influence theology today.

When the Church’s influence began to wane upon Renaissance in the 14^th century, thomism/neo-scholasticism started losing its dominant position in the Western intellectual tradition to the rise of modernism. In this Renaissance-driven modernism, humanism began to walk its own way. Thus, secularism arose and began to gain its popularity in the Western intellectual tradition. Then, more and more learned people sought wisdom in secular humanism rather than in God, while believing that there is no absolute truth as every truth is relative. Thus, relativism emerged out of evolving modernism, as opposed to the thomism/neo-scholasticism of St. Thomas Aquinas. By the time secularism and relativism began to characterize modernism, more and more learned people sought wisdom in atheistic secular philosophies and heretic thoughts, such as the pantheism of Baruch Spinoza.

For more than 700 years, ever since Renaissance, the Church has been in battle with the secularization of humanism and modernism, from which relativism emerged. In spite of the Church’s efforts, secular modernism remained powerful and kept the thomism/neo-scholasticism of St. Thomas Aquinas relatively relatively less influential. So, finally, as communism began to rise out of this evolving trend of secular modernism with relativism, in the late 19^th century, Pope Leo XIII made notable efforts to revive the St. Thomas Aquinas’ neo-schalastic thomism. Though their applications are different, Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis are all embrace the thomism in their theological background. In fact, St. John Paul II’s “Fide et Ratio” refreshes the thomistic realism dialogue of faith and reason.

So, why the neo-scholastic thomism of St. Thomas Aquinas today in this post-modernistic era?

First and foremost, it is for conversion back to the thomistic way to put reason in dialogue with faith, so that we find wisdom in God but not worldly secular humanism. It is, therefore, to recover the original Christian humanism in the context of faith: the relationship between God and the humans. By returning to the neo-scholastic thomism, we can recover humility, which is an indispensable virtue to attain true wisdom through faith in God. This is an important inoculation to one of the modernistic secular humanism’s pathologies: human arrogance illusion, rooted in egoistic price.

As modernistic secular humanism continue to evolve since Renaissance, the humans has fallen into this illusion: we have become “too smart” to believe in God. As we think we can find enough wisdom outside the domain of God, such as secularism humanism, we relativized God and even denied God or regarded God as a mere human construct and illusion. Remember, Richard Dawkins, Oxford biologist, seemed to have thought that the humans can outsmart God with science, though he also seemed to have viewed God as a delusion. Outsmarting God? Rather than God, such a thinking like Dawkins’ is an illusion, and this is like the human arrogance symbolized with the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).

Dawkins is a good example of human arrogance as a result of pursuing wisdom in philosophy and science away from God, as a result of reason and humanism deviating from faith in God. And, an end of this deviation is becoming “wise” and arrogant, as a consequence of pursuing wisdom in a wrong place.

To counter this problem, we need to visit and revisit the neo-schalastic thomisn of St. Thomas Aquinas, in particular, his teaching on humility.

In Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote:

Humility restrains the appetite from aiming at great things against right reason: while magnanimity urges the mind to great things in accord with right reason. Hence it is clear that magnanimity is not opposed to humility: indeed they concur in this, that each is according to right reason.  ST II-2 161

Pursuing great things against right reason is what our ego drives in the context of secular modernism. And this will produce the “wise” like Richard Dawkins.

Inherently, we have the appetite for great things. And, St. Ignatius of Loyola would agree, as his lived and let his fellow Jesuits live with the motto of “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam”, not just “Ad Dei Gloriam”.  The word, “majorem”, means “greater”.  Ignatius sure had the appetite for great things. But, this appetite was not directed to satisfy himself but to please God. And, what Aquinas says of right reason for great things is said so well by St. Ignatius of Loyola: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.

In Question 161 in Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas Aquinas also reminds us that magnanimity is not contrary to humility, as long as it is with right reason: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, as well-said by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

So, St. Thomas Aquinas says that humility safeguards our inherent appetite for magnanimity going against right reason, preventing us from falling in a delusion of secular modernism, as Dawkins did.  In fact, this is the kind of wisdom that St. Thomas Aquinas has been exemplified. And this is echoed in Proverbs 11:2:

When pride comes, disgrace comes; but with the humble is wisdom.

As wisdom is revealed by Christ through his Word and the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8) only to the humble but kept away from the self-righteous and arrogantly wise, as Jesus has indicated:

I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.   Matthew 11:25

In fact, St. Thomas Aquinas has been known for his humility. Though his contribution to the Church is enormously great, Aquinas had never take pride in himself but remained humble to the one, whom he served, namely God.

The First Reading for his memorial feast Mass on January 28 (Wisdom 7:7-10, 15-16) reflects the fact that St. Thomas Aquinas was deeply in love with wisdom, thus, being directed by God, who guide wisdom and directs those who love wisdom. As such a lover of wisdom, St. Thomas Aquinas sure is a philosopher but his love of wisdom is a reflection of his humility. The Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 119:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14) and the Gospel Reading (Matthew 23:8-12) remind us that humility is indispensable to be benefitted with wisdom from God, as St. Thomas Aquinas is. The refrain from the Responsorial Psalm, “Lord, teach me your statutes”(Psalm 119:12) must be a prayer that Aquinas prayed everyday, and God revealed wisdom to him for this humble prayer from his heart.

In response to his humility, God revealed wisdom to St. Thomas Aquinas. Thus, his teaching reflects this wisdom from God. And his humility enabled Aquinas to make such great contributions to the Church as his pursuit of appetite for great things with right reason, resulting in magnanimity. The quality and volume of his works, fitting for the title of Angelic Doctor of the Church, sure is this magnanimity, echoed by what St. Ignatius of Loyola called “magis”.  And, as reflected in his teaching, neo-scholastic thomism, based upon humility, we can stay closer to God and draw deeper understanding of God in the context of our faith with reason.

As we are still affected by secular modernism, resulting in so many problems, we need to consult St. Thomas Aquinas for inoculation. And, he calls us to be humble for wisdom revealed by God. Then, we let our faith and reason dialogue to let this humility-based wisdom work for our appetite for great things in magnanimity. Of course, it is not for us but Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, as St. Ignatius of Loyola knows. 

St. Agnes of Rome, the Consecrated Virgin Ewe Lamb, Defending Virginity at All Costs in Faith

 Do you have something profoundly meaningful to you, to the extent of sacrificing your life in defending it? And if you are faithful, is your faith worthy to defend at any cost, as martyred saints have done?

Blessed are those who are willing to defend their faith and its values and virtues to the point of death, as exemplified by St. Agnes of Rome, whose memorial feast is January 21.

As a young beautiful virgin, St. Agnes of Rome was a target of young men’s desire of courtship.  However, Agnes’ virginity, which symbolizes her beauty and purity, was not for auction of men’s desires, as it was consecrated to Christ. On other words, Agnes was untouchable to men on earth. But, this put her in trouble with the Roman authority, as these men, who pursued Agnes, were not happy about being turned down by her because of her consecration to Christ, and one of them reported her Christian status to the authority. It was during the reign of Diocletian, and Christians were still illegal and subject to persecution by the Roman law.

The Roman authorities tried to strip her Christian faith. But, she refused. Then, she was given a choice by the authorities: to bow down to a Roman pagan deity, Vesta, or to be raped by men at a public brothel. She rejected. So, the Roman authorities stripped her naked and brought to the brothel, leaving her at liberty of lustful men’s desire. However, according to a legend, Agnes’ hair suddenly grew long enough to reach her legs, thus covering her body. Though her cloth was stripped away to be humiliated and raped, God provided the cover as she defended her faith by refusing to submit herself to a pagan deity. Then, as lustful men tried to approach Agnes, the divine lightening struck them blind, keeping her untouchable.  So, finally, the authorities beheaded her.

St. Agnes never ever compromised with regard to her faith and consecrated virginity, which represents her purity. In fact, her consecrated virginity – purity is rooted in her steadfast faith. It is her response to God’s covenant love, chesed, with her. And, she defended it through to the point of her death. She let nothing can affect her to break her commitment to her faith and consecrated virginity.

The way St. Agnes of Rome lived a life of consecration to Christ, thus, defending her virginity, also reflects what St. Paul of Tarsus wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:34, as her virginity enabled her to devote her whole being, both in body and spirit, to Christ, in whom she lived by virtue of her consecration. Her consecrated virginity, therefore, symbolizes not only her purity and chastity but her total devotion and commitment to Christ and his Kingdom.

The First Reading for the Memorial Feast of St. Agnes, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, reminds us of our calling, which is by virtue of Baptism and which we affirm willfully at Confirmation. And, this calling is from Christ, who has become wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption for us, as we are in him. Because of this, St. Agnes was not afraid of her persecutor, thus courageously standing for faith and consecrated virginity. And, as the set of parables of the Kingdom of God in the Gospel Reading (Matthew 13:44-46) reflects, the Kingdom is like something worth to attain at all cost and no matter what, St. Agnes defended her faith and consecrated virginity to the extent of death, keeping these immeasurable treasures all the way faithfully.

No wealth could buy her consecrated virginity, which was the mark of her faith and purity.  No status could sway her mind to trade her consecrated virginity.

While we do everything we can, even to the point of our death, to attain the Kingdom of God, we defend what is indispensable to enter the Kingdom, such as faith and purity, at all cost – even to the point of death. And, we have no need to be afraid, as Christ calls us to be in him, making himself become wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

The name of St. Agnes, Agnes, means lamb (agnus) in Latin and being chaste and pure (ἁγνός /hagnos). After all, her name tells that this consecrated virgin, St. Agnes, is pure lamb in the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), Christ, being unblemished, symbolized with her consecrated virginity.

Do you treasure your faith, along with its values and virtues, as a man did with what he discovered and what a merchant did with fine pearls in Jesus’ parable on the Kingdom (Matthew 13:44-46)?

Does your faith motivate you to have something to defend at all cost as St. Agnes has done?

As you are called by Christ to be in him, who has become the wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption for you, you do and you defend it at all cost without fear, as exemplified St. Agnes of Rome, the consecrated virgin, the lamb of purity (hagnos(Gk) agnus(Lt)) in the Agnus Dei.

Called for Conversion Through Penance, and Called to Follow Christ in His Way Now! - Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

As the Baptism of the Lord signals the beginning not only of the public theophany of Jesus, Theos-Logos incarnate, but also his public ministry, we began the Ordinary Time after the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Now we have come to the third week in the Ordinary Time. The Liturgy of the Word for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle B  with Johan 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20 bears two main running themes: conversion upon repentance and responding to a call into the discipleship.

In the First Reading (Jonah 3:1-5, 10), Prophet Jonah was called to proclaim God’s message in Nineveh. At first, he rejected the call and tried to go as far away as he could from God. But, he failed in this attempt and repented (Jonah 1 -2). Upon his conversion, God called Jonah once again for his mission in Nineveh, and he responded obediently and wen there for the Ninevites to repent and convert from their wicked way of life to God. As a result, they abandoned their wicked life style and turned to God, thus being spared from God’s punishment. Jonah’s mission was successful. The Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9) sings the Israelites’ desire of conversion, turning away from sinful life to God, their desire to live the way of God, who is loving and compassionate and righteous. Now in juxtaposition to the Israelites’ desire in this Psalm, we sing our need and desire to repent and convert from sinful life to the life that God teaches and leads with this refrain, “Teach me your ways, O Lord. Your ways, O lord”. The Second Reading (1 Corinthians 7:29-31) is about a sense of immediacy for the Parousia in Paul’s preaching in order to stand ready for Christ’s return all the time. Today, we read this passage to remember that we need to be ready at any time to be called by Christ to follow his way – to the discipleship at any time. And, to follow Christ, we need to be in the state of grace at all times. Thus, we also reflect our need of conversion to be able to respond to Christ’s call to follow him on his way as his disciple and to be sent out on mission as his apostles, at any time, because the Kingdom of God is at hand, as Christ himself proclaimed (Mark 1:15).

The Gospel Reading (Mark 1:14-20) depicts how Jesus began his public ministry, after his Baptism (Mark 1:9-11) and being tested in the wilderness for 40 days and nights (Mark 1:12-13 – this will be read on the First Sunday of Lent, B). And this Gospel text comes with two parts: vv. 14-15 on Christ’s initial public preaching on penance and conversion for the Kingdom of God ; vv. 16-20 on Christ’s call of the first batch of disciples to reflect the two-fold theme of this Sunday: penance and conversion, responding to God’s call to follow Christ as his disciples and to be sent out as his apostles upon being baptized with the Holy Spirit.

In the first part, Mark indicates that it was also when John the Baptist  was no longer in public, conducting his ministry of baptism with water as he was arrested by Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great (Mark 1:14-15). When John the Baptist public ministry ended, Christ in Jesus began his public ministry, according to Mark. So, as Jesus began his public preaching, John the Baptist’s teaching of penance for forgiveness through baptism with water (Mark 1:4) was reflected in the context of the imminence of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15). While John the Baptist called for repentance as the public appearance of Christ was imminent (Mark 1:1-8), Christ in Jesus called for repentance as the Kingdom of God was at hand upon his public appearance and ministry (Mark 1:15). Obviously, we must be in the state of grace to be fit for the Kingdom.

In the second part, Mark describes how Jesus recruited the first four disciples by the Sea of Galilee. All of these first disciples were fishermen and two sets of brothers. First, Simon (Peter) and Andrew. Then, James (James the Greater) and John. It is important to note that none of these fishermen in Galilee neither had expected to encounter nor had met Christ. In fact, it is likely that these fishermen did not know who this man, Jesus, who was calling them to follow was at all. After all, Christ in Jesus was from Nazareth, but these fishermen were from around Capernaum. Nevertheless, all of them immediately followed Jesus, though they did not know he is Christ yet. Just imagine what was on these fishermen’s minds when they followed Jesus straightforward, not even asking who he was and what his callings was for. They just abandoned their families and fishing career simply to follow this man, Jesus, without knowing who he really was yet, without knowing that he is, in fact, Christ, whom John the Baptist prophesized for his coming as the one to baptize with the Holy Spirit. Perhaps, with fishermen’s instinct, they must have sensed something worthy of leaving their fishing business behind to follow Jesus, without knowing that he is Christ. For Simon and Andrew, these words of Jesus, “I will make you fishers of men”(Mark 1:17) could have triggered their interest in following him. Perhaps, Jesus repeated these words to James and John, as well, for them to follow him, as Simon and Andrew did.

Place yourself about 2,000 years ago in this fishing town of Capernaum on the coast of Sea of Galilee. You and your brother or friends just finished fishing for the day. So, you were mending nets on the boat. Then, a man you have never met and do not know walked by and calling you, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men”(Mark 1:17), as Jesus said to Simon and Andrew. What would you do? Would you drop everything and leave the boat and follow this man, whom you don’t know yet? Or, would you negotiate with him, telling something like, “We’d like to. But, hey, we are busy now as you can see. So, can we talk about that when we are done taking care of the net? Or, would you respond by saying something like, “What do you mean by ‘fisher of men’?” Or, would you just ignore him because you don’t know him?

There is something profoundly important in the fact that these fishermen of Galilee, Simon, Andrew, James, and John, did not ask any question, did not negotiate, but simply followed Jesus, dropping everything, even though they knew nothing about him but only knowing that following him would make them “fisher of men”. And, see if you would follow their suit why or why not?

If something that turns you away, then, you must have something like what made Jonah turn himself away from God when he was called for the first time. Then, what is it in you that can turn you away from the voice of Christ, “Come after me”? Anxiety toward the unknown?

Whatever it maybe, if you have something that prevents you from responding to Christ’s call immediately with your affirmation, it is important to revisit the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 7:29-31) and reflect on Paul’s teaching on imminence. And, understand that this is not about being impulsive in our response.

If Jonah responded to God’s call on mission for the Ninevites’ conversion as these Galilean fishermen did to Jesus’ call, then, the conversion of the Ninevites would have taken place much sooner.

So, would you like Salvation and the Kingdom to be delayed because you just do not feel like responding with affirmation to Jesus’ call immediately?

Think of Mary at the Annunciation and her fiat to God’s call to serve Him as the Theotokos (Luke 1:26-38). Though she had no idea what the call was about at all and felt troubled at once, not only it was unbeknownst to her but it made no sense to her at all, she accepted her call to give birth to the incarnated Christ so that he can make his theophany and engage in his public ministry. What if she rejected her call and aborted the conceived Christ incarnate? What if something delayed the conception simply because Mary had become too anxious and was not ready to respond to her call?

Mary made no delay in her response to her call. So, Jesus, who is Christ, was born on time in God’s master plan. Simon, Andrew, James, and John wasted no time in their response to Jesus’ call. So, Jesus’ public ministry proceeded and consummated on time. What about you in response when Jesus calls you? And, are you in the state of grace, and keeping it up through your penance through the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

Now is the time to repent and convert so that you can be in the state of grace readily. Now is the time to respond with your “Teach me your ways, O Lord. Your ways, O lord “(Psalm 25:4) as Jesus is calling you, “Come after me”(Mark 1:17) .

Accepting Child King Jesus’ Threefold Invitation from Cebu to All the Ends of the Earth on the 500th anniversary feast Sto. Nino de Cebu: 1521 – 2021

 Third Sunday of January (not to be confused with Third Sunday in Ordinary Time as it comes usually in January) has been designated as the Feast of Santo Nino de Cebu.  This feast celebrates the initiation of Christianization of the Philippines. It is  because the ruler of Cebu at that time, Rajah Hamabon, and his wife, Hara Humamay, accepted not only a wooden statue of Sto. Nino, brought by a Spanish explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, as a gift of diplomacy, but also Christian faith, on April 14, 1521. Thus, Christianization of the Philippines began upon the arrival of Sto. Nino to Cebu, starting with its ruler and his wife, Rajah and Hara. In fact, this year marks the 500^th anniversary of the arrival of Sto. Nino to the Philippines, as well as Christianization of the Philippines.

This 500^th anniversary Sto. Nino feast in 2021 is also the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, on Cycle B. A theme of the Scripture readings for Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, B (1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19; Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10; 1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20 ; John 1:35-42), is God’s call on us and our responding to His call. We are to listen to God’s voice in His call and respond with our actions with our whole body, soul, heart, and mind. So, what is a theme of Sto. Nino feast and how can it be related to God’s call on us and our response, a theme for Second Sunday in Ordinary Time?

Fr. Arturo Bautista, Associate Pastor of Holy Child Jesus Parish, Chicago, puts the significance of Sto. Nino celebration and devotion in three-fold way:

I.                   Sto. Nino invites us to him and his Kingdom

II.                Sto. Nino invites us to be child-like but not childish, because we must be child-like to enter into his Kingdom

III.             Sto. Nino invites us to have peace in our hearts, because his Kingdom is of peace

In Fr. Arturo’s teaching on Sto. Nino significance, I and II reflect the Gospel Reading for Sto. Nino feast on Cycle B, Mark 10:13-16, which emphasize the importance of Jesus’ invitation to those who are child-like, while III reflect the First Reading, Isaiah 9:1-6, which identifies the child born to us as the Prince of Peace, whose dominion is characterized with peace.

Sto. Nino, as Fr. Arturo has said, invites us to peace  - peace of our heart, as well as, peace of the world – that comes with him and found in his Kingdom dominion. Thus, accepting Sto. Nino’s invitation to him, and to his Kingdom, by being child-like, leads us to peace in his dominion. Given how the world has been these days, plagued with dividing hatred and violence, Fr. Arturo emphasizes that our world today much needs Sto. Nino. So, he invites us to pray and make efforts for more people to listen to Christ’ invitation in Sto. Nino and attain peace.

The salvation that Christ in Jesus brings is characterized with eternal peace (i.e. John 14:27; 16:33; Romans 5:1-2). Pax Christi!

Sto.Nino invites us everyday, as Fr. Arturo emphasizes, to him, to become child-like, and to the peace that he bring as the Prince of Peace, as well as the King of the Universe.  Now juxtapose this three-fold invitation of Sto. Nino to God’s call in Jesus and our response, which are in a general theme for Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

By virtue of our Baptism, we are called by God through Christ. But to those who were baptized during infancy probably could not clearly recognize the call yet until at least they grow mature enough to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist but should recognize by the time they are deemed as mature in faith to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation by their own will.  So, if you are mature in faith enough to have received all three Sacraments of Initiation, Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation, you are able to recognize God’s call not only in Christ but also in the Holy Spirit, upon your discernment, and follow it upon listening to it. And, you know that the call is God’s invitation to Him through Christ the Son and to the peace the Son bring.  And, the Gospel narrative for Sto. Nino feast on Cycle B, Mark 10:13-16, reminds us that we need to be child-like to recognize, listen, and follow the call, the invitation, to follow Christ the Son and to do the will of God the Father, as it leads us to what Sto. Nino invites, as Fr. Arturo teaches: Christ himself in the child king, Sto. Nino, and his Kingdom, and peace in his dominion.

In the Gospel Reading for Sto. Nino feast Sunday on Cycle B, Mark 10:13-16, you can generate an image of Jesus inviting children to him. No matter who they are and where they are from, Jesus invites children to come to him, as he enjoys blessing them. That is why he rebuked his disciples for trying to prevent children from coming to Jesus, though the disciples might have thought that children would be annoying to Jesus. Obviously, they were not annoying to Jesus but welcomed by him. So, Jesus threw this punch in his teaching, in response to his disciples’ action:

Let children come to me; do not prevent them, for kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it (Mark 10:15-16).

This Gospel narrative makes us reflect on why Jesus loves children so much. And, this reflection leads to another reflection: why God the Father sent His only begotten Son to us in the form of a baby Jesus.  And further leading to reflect on the image of Sto. Nino.

Given John 1:14 and 3:16, God the Father sent His Son out of His love in the form of those whom He wants to save and to come to the Kingdom that His Son reigns. Namely, the objects of salvation are us, humans, sinners to repent and seek His mercy. For this reason, He sent His Son in the form of human, incarnating Theos-Logos in the human flesh of Jesus (i.e. John 1:1).

But, why this incarnated Theos-Logos had to come to us as a little child first? Why God the Father did not send Jesus as a 30-year-old man, instead?  There is a significant reason for God the Father to send His only begotten Son as infant Jesus.  And think again the Gospel narrative of Mark 10:13-16.

The reflection question boils down to why little children? Why little child for God the Father to send His Son to us? Why little children for Jesus to invite?

Now if you think of the basics of child psychology, you get a clue.

Think of the mind and heart of an infant. It has no preconception. No cognitive bias. The mind’s eyes of infant see things as they are. Their minds are like bland sheet of paper.  Its state is of tabula rasa. For such infant children to grow psychologically, as Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development theory addresses, trust is indispensable. And, this trust that infant develops with their parents, who provides, is the foundation of the human development, affecting the entire life span with its unfolding effects.  The trust in Erikson’s theory parallels the secure attachment between infant children and their parents in the theory of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. From this perspective of developmental human psychology, Jesus wants us to be child-like to come to him and to entre his Kingdom because he wants us to trust him and form secure attachment with him, just as he trusts the Father and enjoys the benefits of his secure attachment with Him.

Jesus intuitively knows this fundamental concept of human psychology, in rebuking his disciples for trying to block children from coming to him and teaching the importance of being child-like, because he knows that we need to trust him and form secure attachment with him, based on our trust.  Thus, in Sto. Nino’s invitation, we are called to be one with him (John 14:20; 17:21) in his peace-filled Kingdom. After all, this invitation and call to be one with Christ is to live fully and fruitfully so we can glorify God the Father (John 15:8), as to reflect these words of St. Irenaeus, “Dei est vivens homo (the glory of God is a man (fully) living). And, when Jesus calls us to “come and you will see” (John 1:39), as in the Gospel narrative for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (John 1:35-42), it is his invitation to us to be one with him so that we may be fruitful in doing the will of the Father, thus glorifying Him. Then, we will find true peace and love.  To follow Jesus’ “come and you will see” invitation, we must be child-like, drop all these factors that prevent us from becoming child-like, such as pride, and so forth. For us not to have these preventing factors, we must form, first and foremost, our trust-based secure attachment with Christ in Jesus, Christ in the child King, Senor Santo Nino, based on the psychological theories of Erik Erikson and John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth.

May this 500^th Anniversary of Santo Nino de Cebu be a refreshing invitation for us, once again, to be like children of pure hearts, trusting and securely attached with Christ, who has been incarnated and came to us as infant Jesus, who trusted his mother Mary and his earthly father, Joseph, while trusting the Father in heaven, who sent him to us as the greatest gift of love, without any diplomatic or political interest.

And, by virtue of our Baptism, we have been adopted to the family of God (Ephesians 1:3-, 15-18), and by virtue of our Confirmation, we have accepted this greatest gift and his invitation out of our free will, as Rajah and Hara of Cebu accepted the wooden statue of Sto. Nino from Magellan and Christian faith via the invitation of Sto, Nino.

Viva Pit Senor! Viva Senor Santo Nino!

God in Christ Calling Us, and We Listen and Respond Not Only with Our Hearts and Minds but also with Our Bodies – 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, B

 We started liturgical year on the First Sunday of Advent and prepared for the coming of the incarnated Christ throughout Advent Season. We remained vigilant and worked diligently in our preparation for the way of the incarnated Christ to come, as we listened to John the Baptist, who was sent to prepare for the coming of the incarnated Christ in public. During our Advent preparation, we were also reminded that Christ was incarnated in the womb of Mary the Blessed Virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit.  So, the incarnated Christ made his first theophany in newborn baby Jesus, coming out of Mary’s womb, in Bethlehem, witnessed by the shepherds, who vigilantly kept their night watch for their sheep. And we started Christmas Season. Throughout Christmas Season, we reflected on some milestones in the incarnated Christ’s growth, from his infancy into childhood into young adulthood, such as his Presentation in the Temple and the Magi from east making homage to him, known as Epiphany, until he made his first public appearance on the banks of the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist, while repentant sinners were being baptized by John. The Baptism of the incarnated Christ at age 30 was to initiate his public ministry, making the critical transition into his public ministry, as we moved from Christmas Season to Ordinary Time. Now, we are in the early part of Ordinary Time until Ash Wednesday to start Lenten Season, followed by Paschal Triduum and Paschal Season. Then, after Pentecost to conclude Paschal Season, we resume Ordinary Time until we end liturgical year in the week of Christ the King Sunday.

During the early part Ordinary Time, between Baptism of the Lord Sunday until Ash Wednesday, we reflect on early public ministry of Jesus in Galilee. And, after Pentecost, in the latter Ordinary Time, we reflect the rest of his public ministry towards his Passion, in our preparation for his Parousia (second coming or return of Christ).

On this Sunday after the Baptism of the Lord Sunday, on Cycle B, known as Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, B, we reflect on how Jesus, the incarnated Christ, began his public ministry, calling the first batch of his disciples in the Gospel Reading (John 1:35-42).

It was John the Baptist, who recognized the incarnated Christ in Jesus, as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 36), and the Son of God (John 1:34). When Andrew and the other disciples of John the Baptist heard John saying of Jesus as the Lamb of God again, upon his second encounter with Jesus, they left John the Baptist and started following Jesus. And Jesus recognized Andrew and the other disciple of John following him. So, he asked them, “What do you want?”(John 1:38a). And, they replied, asking Jesus, “Rabbi, where are you staying?”(John 1:38b). Then, Jesus said to them, “Come, and you will see”(John 1:39).

What can we learn from this small interaction between Jesus and the two disciples of John the Baptist? Their verbal exchanges are: “What do you want?”, “Rabbi, where are you staying?”, and “Come, and you will see”.

What is noteworthy is that the departure of Andrew and the other disciples of John the Baptist from John to follow Jesus upon his Baptism reflects the start of Ordinary Time to focus on Jesus’ public ministry, while the fact that these disciples of John left him also signals the completion of John’s mission to prepare the way for Jesus to come and start his public ministry.  Andrew and the other disciples of John the Baptist have become the first two disciples of Baptized Jesus, according to John’s Gospel. As Jesus starts his public ministry as the Lamb of God, as well as the Son of God, then, John the Baptist can now retire.

The fact that Jesus asked Andrew and the other disciple, “What do you want?”, teaches us that Jesus prefers us to make our intention to seek him specific and explicit, though he sure knows what is in your heart, even though you may not necessarily express it verbally well. The response of Andrew and the other disciples seems rather awkward, saying, “Rabbi, where are you staying?”  But, this indicates their desire to know where Jesus bases himself in his public ministry operation. It is also important to note that they recognized Jesus as a teacher (rabbi), though they just met him and heard of him as the “Lamb of God”. To this, Jesus invites them by saying, “Come, and you will see”. Obviously, these two men, making transition from discipleship of John the Baptist to discipleship of Jesus were search something deeper, beyond being baptized by John for their penance. In fact, their discipleship of John was to prepare themselves to become discipleship of Jesus. They just “graduated” from their discipleship of John and “enrolled” themselves into discipleship of Jesus.

After these verbal exchanges, Andrew and the other disciple continued to follow Jesus and spend pretty much of that day with him.

Then, later on that day, at about tenth hour, Andrew told his older brother, Simon, “We have found the Messiah (Christ)!” (John 1:41) and introduced him to Jesus (John 1:42a). Then, Jesus called Simon with a new name, Peter (Cephas) (John 1:42b), indicating that Jesus was already eying on Simon to make him the chief presbytery figure of his Church, when he baptizes his disciples with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33) and fire (Matthew 3:11) on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).

We have spent Advent Season to prepare ourselves to welcome the incarnated Christ into our hearts – to encounter him intimately. During Christmas Season, we continued to witness him at his theophanies, starting with his Nativity to his Baptism. All these throughout Advent Season and Christmas Season are to do the will of God, as reflected in the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10), with its refrain: Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will. In fact, the spirit of this Psalm is: I come with delight to do the will of God.

I have waited, waited for the Lord, and he stooped toward me and heard my cry. And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God (Psalm 40:2,4).

These verses reflect that we now have received a call from Christ after preparing ourselves to encounter him through Advent Season and Christmas Season to follow him to do God’s will through his example. A new song, a hymn to God, into our mouths is Christ’s teaching to spread his Gospel, while giving thanks and praises to God.

Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will. We stand ready to listen to God, His will for us to be done in His call on us. So, God the Father has sent His only begotten Son, Christ in incarnating through Mary the Immaculate Conception, Blessed Virgin, the Theotokos, by the power of the Holy Spirit. And now, here he comes to call us to follow him, as here we are to listen to him.

Here am I. This is what Samuel when he was a child, living in the temple in Siloh with the priest, Eli, when God called him, as the First Reading (1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19) describes. The temple at that time was rather a prototypal to the Temple in Jerusalem built by Solomon later. It was more like a large tent that housed the Ark of the Covenant, then, located in Siloh. It was before the Ark was taken away by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4) and before David, as King of Israel, brought the Ark to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).

At that time, when God called him three times, Samuel was not mature enough to recognize the calls as coming from God in His revelation. Samuel was thinking these calls were from Eli, until he was told to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9), next time he hears the call. And God called Samuel again, and then, Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening”(1 Samuel 3:11), as he began to recognize God in His revelation through his call. And, Samuel received a message of his vocation to help God’s will on Israel be done (1 Samuel 3:11-14).

We have been called by God the Father through the Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit ever since we received the Sacrament of Baptism. If you were baptized when you are a baby, probably you did not recognize God’s calling at least until you received the Sacrament of the Eucharist as the First Communion. If this was the case with you, until you recognize God’s call on you with your faith matured, then, you were probably like little Samuel, thinking God’s calls on him as calls from Eli. However, by the time you received the Sacrament of Confirmation, you began to realize God’s calling on you, because you have decided at your own volition to follow Jesus as his disciple to receive Confirmation and being anointed by a bishop. If you joined the Church as a adult through RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults), receiving the three Sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation, at once, you have been able to recognize God’s call on you since the moment you become a part of the ecclesiastical communion.

In the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20), Paul reminds us that God created us in the fleshly bodies, for a good reason. God desires us to serve His will, using our bodies, upon receiving calls, for His glory – for His greater glory – Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!  For this reason, we must keep our bodies holy, maintaining them fitting to be members of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:15) and the temple of the Holy Spirit with us (1 Corinthians 6:19).  This is one aspect of the prototype of St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Our bodies are not for our own pleasure and disposition but to serve the will of God upon receiving calls from God, following Christ, in whom we become one body and with one another (John 17:21; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

Upon his Baptism, Christ has started calling, calling us to become his disciples, to follow his way, to do the will of God the Father. And upon our Baptism, we have been called by God in Christ. But, perhaps, we were not mature enough to recognize these calls as from God, just as it was case with Samuel, until being advised by Eli. But, upon Confirmation on, we must recognize and listen to calls from God, as Samuel did with these words, “Here I am. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”. And, let us remember to keep our bodies holy so that we can serve God, upon our calls, with our bodies, even offering as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Him (Romans 12:1), as Christ himself did on the Cross.

Let our service in following Christ, upon receiving and listening to God’s calls, be holy and pleasing to God!

Baptism of the Lord: It’s Show Time of Jesus! Cycle B

 The feast of Baptism of the Lord marks the conclusion of Liturgical Christmas Season to begin Ordinary Time, which will have an extended interval of Lenten Season, Paschal Triduuu, and Paschal Season, from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost Sunday, to resume the rest of Ordinary Time.

We began Liturgical Year on First Sunday of Advent to begin preparing ourselves for the Nativity of the incarnated Christ. Our preparation for this, after 2.000 years of this event that we celebrate, is to welcome the incarnated Christ at his arrival into our hearts, not a manger.  For this preparatory season, we mainly worked on our hearts to be fit to be welcoming place for Christ.

During our Advent preparation (Advent season), for two Sundays in row, the Second and Third Sundays of Advent, we listened to the words of John the Baptist and reflected on him, as well as his role, as the heralding man of the way of Christ (Mark 1:1-8; John 1:6-8, 19-28, for Cycle B). For this reason, he called us to repent and be baptized as our preparation for the coming of the incarnated Christ, whose birth was prophesized by his father, Zechariah, as the daybreak from on high (Luke 1:78-79), upon speaking of his son, John, as prophet of the Most High to go before the incarnated Christ to prepare the way for Christ (Luke 1:76). And giving knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins is how Zachariah’s son, John the Baptist prepares the way of Christ (Luke 1:77). And, John the Baptist testified to Christ, the light, so that people may believe in Christ through his testimonies (John 1:6-8), as the voice crying out in the wilderness, identifying himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3 (John 1:23).

Then, during Christmas Season, from the solemn feast of the Nativity of the Lord on until this day of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we celebrate the unfolding mystery of the incarnation of Christ. In this season of celebration, we reflect the progressive theophanies from newborn baby Jesus at his birth to 30-year-old Jesus at his baptism, including Epiphany, which is a theophany in which baby Jesus, the incarnated Christ, appeared to and seen by Gentiles, for the first time, to signal for the establishment of Christ’s Church as “holy, catholic (universal)”, as in the Apostles Creed, and “holy, catholic, apostolic”, as in the Nicene Creed.

Until a grown-up Christ incarnate in Jesus came to the banks of the Jordan River in Judea, where John the Baptist was preparing for the way of Christ’s coming, the incarnated Christ had been rather in obscurity, except to the shepherd who came to witness at his Nativity, Simeon and Anna who recognized baby Jesus as the prophesized Messiah at his Presentation, and the Magi who came and paid homage to at Epiphany. However, upon his Baptism, Jesus, the incarnated Christ, is no longer in obscurity. From this point on, he is in public, making himself easily seen by those who believe. So, as his Passion began to be intensified, Jesus said, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing”(John 18:20).

The Baptism of the Lord signifies the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, making himself seen to anyone, who repent and reconcile and believe. But, to those who stubbornly refuse to do so, Jesus was seen as blasphemer, who deserve to be executed.

While John the Baptist baptized people to wash away sins with water as a sign of penance (Mark 1:5), the First Reading (Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7) reminds us that Baptism is not solely for penitential cleansing of sins but a commissioning ritual to serve God. The first four verses of Isaiah 42 are known as the servant song, along with Isaiah 49:1–6; Isaiah 50:4–7; and Isaiah 52:13–53:12, to remind how the incarnated Christ, the Son of God, born of Mary, is to serve the will of God the Father (i.e. Mark 14:36).

The Baptism of the Lord, as described in the Gospel Reading (Mark 1:7-11) is, indeed, to signal the fullness of time for the incarnated Christ to be commissioned to initiate his service for the will of the Father. And, what the service entails is reflected in the first four verses of the First Reading (Isaiah 42:1-4), which make up the first segment of the servant song in Isaiah. Then, in the latter half of the First Reading (Isaiah 42: 6-7), God speaks clearly why He let His Son be sent to us and incarnated in the womb of Mary: to bring justice to the world, as a new covenant with us, and to deliver us from the darkness of sins and ignorance, opening our eyes to Christ, to enable us to experience “epiphany”, visible manifestation of the incarnated Christ. This way, we can come toward Him through Christ (John 14:6). Therefore, the Baptism of the Lord to commission the Son, the incarnated Christ, is to bring us to Him through His Son’s pastoral service with his teaching and healing, which follow his Baptism.

So, when the incarnated Christ in Jesus emerged out of the water at his Baptism, the heavens torn-opened and God the Father spoke: You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased (Mark 1:11), preceded with descent of the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:10). And, this voice of God from heaven at the Baptism of Christ reflects these verses from the Responsorial Psalm:

The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the Lord, over vast waters.

The voice of the Lord is mighty; the voice of the Lord is majestic.  Psalm 29:3-4

The Father in heaven voiced His love and content with His Son with His mighty and majestic voice over the water of Jordan River.

In Japan, there is a saying, “If you love your child, then, let him/her go on a journey”(Kawaii ko niwa tabi wo saseyo). It is a proverb for parents not to spoil their children just because they love but to let them go on their journeys so that they can learn something invaluable about the world and grow. But, for the Father in heaven to send His only begotten Son out of His love is not really for the Son to grow but for him to serve His will for us. God has sent His Son as the incarnated Christ as He so loves us (John 3:16) and as so He loves the Son (Mark 1:11). Knowing that the Son’s readiness and commissioning to embark on his public ministry into his Passion and Death and Resurrection, the Father in heaven was well pleased and affirmed His love for the Son. The commissioning aspect of his Baptism was indicated with the descent of the Holy Spirit on him (Mark 1:10). And Peter reminds that John the Baptist regarded the Baptism of Christ as anointing with the Holy Spirit and power by the Father (Acts 10:38), as in the Second Reading (Acts 10:34-39). And Christ’s anointment with the Holy Spirit at his Baptism (Mark 1:10; Acts 10:38) leads to Pentecost, on which we as disciples are baptized with the Holy Spirit, as indicated by John the Baptist (Mark 1:7-8), echoed by Christ’s foretelling of Pentecost (John 14:15-27).

So, now you do not need to wonder why Jesus needed to be baptized by John the Baptist even though he had no sin at all. It is not because he is also fully human. For Jesus, the incarnated Christ, Baptism was a commissioning ritual to mark the beginning of his public ministry, which is reflected in Isaiah 42:1-4. And, the Father in heaven was well pleased to see His Son at his commissioning with his Baptism (Mark 1:10) because his Baptism means he was about to serve His will (Isaiah 42:6-7). This is why the feast of the Baptism of the Lord signals the transition from Christmas Liturgical Season to Ordinary Time, through which we focus on Jesus’ public ministry, reflected in Isaiah 42:1-4 and the Father’s intent of it (Isaiah 42:6-7).

The incarnated Christ was baptized by John the Baptist to be anointed with the Holy Spirit by the Father as his official commissioning to begin his public ministry according to the will of the Father.  And, our baptism, the Sacrament of Baptism also reflects this, as we to have been baptized as the first Sacrament of Initiation. It marks the initiation to be adopted into the family of God, and for us to be inducted into God’s family by the Sacrament of Baptism is to serve God’s will on each of us, empowered by the Holy Spirit, upon the Sacrament of Confirmation, reflecting Pentecost. Upon receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, we prepare ourselves for the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and further prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation to be commissioned and sent out, thus becoming apostolic, to serve the will of God on each of us, utilizing gifts of the Holy Spirit uniquely bestowed on us.

Now the incarnated Christ, Jesus, has grown up and has been baptized to be anointed to launch his public ministry in the Father’s will. He is no longer in obscurity of Nazareth. Behold, it is the show time of Jesus! From this point on, as reflected in Ordinary Time, the incarnated Christ is always in public as he no longer has a place to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). And, having been baptized and confirmed to follow Christ, neither do we. As we begin Ordinary Time with Liturgical Christmas Season behind, let us follow Christ in public without fear! It’s show time without being showy but humble, as we are to shine, not to be hidden (i.e. Matthew 5:14-16).

 

新年のごあいさつ：命の本質について生と死の一連性、一体性についての考察

 あけましておめでとうございます。とはいえ、喪中の方もいれば、元旦早々、愛する家族の一員を思わぬ事故や病気などで亡くす方もおり、めでたいはずの日が痛ましい悲しみの日となった方々も少なくないことを忘れてはいけません。

新年早々、めでたい時にこのような”辛気臭い”説教じみた挨拶なんかしやがって、縁起でもない、気分損ねたわ！塩撒いたるわ！、とお叱りを受けるでしょうが、新しい年の到来を、こうした”辛気臭い”　”影”の現実への憐れみの心を忘れずに祝うことはできないものでしょうか？

私は自分の専門がカウンセリング心理の他、臨床宗教でもあるが故、生きているが故に体験する死という不可避の現実を日常扱っているのでこのような挨拶をするのかもしれません。気を悪くされた方、どうかご勘弁ください。そして、スルーしてください。失礼いたしました。

さて、生と死についてですが、これらは on the other side of the coin to each other, 　つまり、それらそのものがまったく違うものであっても本質的には表裏一体なものです。このことはキリスト降臨よりも500年ほど前のアテネで西洋哲学の祖と言われるソクラテスが死刑判決を前にした議論において、哲学に生きることは“死ぬ練習”をしているのであり、それ故、死を恐れない、よって、死を恐れ感情的になる人は哲学を知らない人であり肉体だけに生きているという証である、と説いたと、パイドンという書物に記されています。このことは、ソクラテスが魂の不死を論じたことの拠り所ともされ、ソクラテスの弟子であるプラトンのイデア論にも継続され、更に、プラトンの弟子であるアリストテレスが魂と肉体の密接な関係について論じています。

ソクラテスからプラトンへと受け継がれた霊魂不滅論はプラトンの影響を受けたと強く受けた言われる初期キリスト教においても反映されていると考えられます。初期キリスト教のソクラテスからプラトンへ受け継がれた霊魂不滅論は、使徒パウロがコリント人への第一の手紙15章12 節から 58節で詳しく書かれているように、後のキリスト教の死生観における霊魂不滅論による復活の考えにも呼応しているといえます。そして、ここでパウロが復活について議論していることは肉体との関わりというコンテクストなのでプラトンよりもアリストテレス的な霊魂不滅論といえるでしょう。そして、中世になり、それまでプラトン的とされていたキリスト教神学にアリストテレス的なパラダイムを持ち込んだ聖トマスアキナスは、アリストテレスによる不滅の霊魂と肉体との密接は関連性において人間の霊魂は人間の形式をした肉体という物質に霊的な命の本質を作用させ肉体という物質的形式が命あるものと死という時まで機能できるようにさせることができる、と論じました。たとえて言うなら、ニューロンという神経細胞そのものはだけでは神経細胞の形はしていても神経細胞としての機能を果たせません。しかし、それにイオン電流が作用すると神経細胞として他の細胞ではできなような独得の機能を果たすことができるわけです。つまり、霊魂という命の本質との肉体という形式に対して相互関係は、神経伝達のイオン電流とその為の独得の物質的形式をもった神経細胞のようなものであると比喩できるかと思います。

形式的である肉体は仏教でいう諸行無常の自然の法則の下にあるが故、永遠にそのままの姿、形式で存在し続けことができず、死という現象により”朽ちる”というよりもその物質的構成分子、原子、へと自然の摂理により分解され自然界に還元去れます。そして、またその時がくれば、これらの分子や原子は生命の物質的形式である肉体を構成する為、アミノ酸高分子の形成などを経て使われていきます。しかし、一方、命の本質そのものである霊魂は死んだ肉体という物質的形式を離れそのままの姿で諸行無常の法則に従うことなく存在し続蹴る事ができます。ここに宗教と科学（自然科学）の微妙に面白いパラダイム的並行性やクロスオーバー的な何かを見出すことができます。

そして、こうして元来ソクラテスが唱えた、それを弟子のプラトンがそのイデア論に継承し、さらにその弟子のアリストテレスがより具体的に肉体との関係性について議論し、それを更にキリスト教神学に応用して霊性と肉体の、プラトン的（プラトニック）な観点から見れば対立相反しているような二者が実はそうではないと理解できることで改めてキリスト教における霊魂、霊性、と肉体、肉体的感触など、との密接な関連性を説いたのが聖トマスアキナスだといえましょう。そして、この聖トマスアキナスの考えでもって、創世記に遡って、改めて神の被創造体としての命ある人間について考えてみましょう。

創造主である全能の神（אל שדי El Shaddai）はまず三位一体の自分のイメージにて人間の肉体の基といえる物質的形式を創造された（創世記１：２７）。しかし、それだけではただの物質的形式であり、人間として機能できません。このことは先述したように、神経細胞という物質的形式そのものでは神経細胞として機能できないということと同じです。よって、人間を神の姿をイメージした物質的形式をも人間たる存在とする実存的本質としてその肉体を人間のそれとして機能しうるようにする為に、神は命の本質であり霊性（これを聖霊とよぶ）、命の精、を地の誇り、つまり、土から造られた分質的形式に自分の息という形でその物質的形式の鼻の部分に吹き込むことで、その時点からそれはただの物質的形式ではなく、生命活動を営む肉体として諸行無常の自然の法則に従い霊界との密接なかかわりの中で生きている人間が存在します（創世記２：７）。

このことはヒンズー教や仏教の教理にあるインド系宗教哲学にある輪廻転生の霊魂論とは違うものです。

つまり、キリスト教的死生観にあるように、不滅の霊魂と無常の肉体は一見相反するようであっても、アリストテレスから聖トマスアキナスへ受け継がれた考えにあるように、人間の霊魂と肉体は密接にかかわっており、肉体の死滅後も生き続けることができるが故、神のご意思により復活の際には新しい肉体と一緒になることができ、これゆえに新しい肉体でもって復活することができるということになるのです。また、このことは創世記２：７にあるように、霊魂（נֶפֶשׁ,nephesh）は命の本質である聖霊が神の息を肉体の原型である地の埃 (עָפָר֙ מִן־ הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה  apar min (h)adamah) に吹き込んだ（נָפַח, naphach）結果だという教えに基付いていることにも一致します。

神は不滅であり、それ故、神の息吹である神の命の本質、聖霊、も不滅であるわけで、それが無常であるが故死滅することになる肉体という物質的対象に吹き込まれることで実存的本質である霊魂(נֶפֶשׁ,nephesh - ψυχή,psyche)が形成され、肉体の無常性と独立にかつ肉体に生命の活力を与えるという関連性でもって永遠に生き続け、これゆえ、新しい肉体でもっての復活も可能になるわけです。更に、この神学的真実は、更に、神の受肉（ενσάρκωση,ensarkose-incarnation）(ヨハネ1:1,14) は聖母マリアの穢れなき肉体に聖霊（Άγιο Πνεύμα, Agio Pneuma）の力が作用した結果である（マタイ1:18; ルカ1:35）という神学的真実と霊性という命の本質と肉体という形式との関係において同じパターンです。

よって、死という現象は、ソクラテスを源流とするプラトン、アリストテレスが説く魂についての哲学、そして、聖トマスアキナスによるキリスト教神学を理解していれば、霊魂という観点かれみれば、復活による新しい肉体を得るまでの間の古い肉体と魂の乖離でしかない（パウロによるコリント人への第一の手紙１５章１２節ー５８節）と理解できます。本来、不滅の命の本質である霊魂はそれに相応しい形式である肉体との相互的関連性にあるものなので、肉体の死による肉体からの乖離の後、時が満ちれば、新しい肉体と一緒になって復活を可能にさせるのです。そして、それを誰よりも最初に示したのがイエスキリストでありその復活なのです。聖霊の力によって聖母マリアの子宮を通して受肉したイエスキリストの血肉は聖霊とは切っても切れない永遠の関係にあるのです。だから一度十字架での死によって切り離されたイエスキリストの霊魂とその傷付けられた肉体はたった３日後に再統合され復活し、それ以降、イエスキリストはその肉体を持ち続けても決して再度死ぬことはないのです。なぜならば、この復活により死を克服しているからです。そして、時が満ちれば私達もキリストが２，０００ほど前にそうであったように、霊魂と肉体と一緒に復活できるわけです。しかし、この際、イエスキリストとの違いは、キリストはそれまでの傷ついたままの肉体で復活しましたが、私達の復活の際にはそれまでの肉体を復元するのではなく諸行無常の摂理に縛られない不朽の新しい肉体での復活です。これを可能にしたのは、言うまでもなく、イエスキリスト自身の復活なのです。

プラトンの弟子であるアリストテレス、更に、中世にアリストテレスの哲学をキリスト教神学に統合した聖トマスアキナスによれば、不滅の霊魂は無常の肉体にその存在意義を与える命の本質であると考えることができるわけです。だからこそ、生と死は表裏一体であり、キリストの肉体でもっての復活（だから、復活後のキリストの墓穴は空っぽだった）により実は、生のほうが死よりも強力であることが証明されたわけです　（コリント人への第一の手紙15:57;ガラテヤ人への手紙2:20）。

こうして生と死の一体性、密接な関係、を把握していれば、今恵まれている命という祝福に感謝し喜びつつも、その物質的、肉体的側面が時や状況により受け入れなければならない死を悲嘆に陥ることなく認識し、この認識から、今ある自分の命のありがたさを喜び、同時に、年の初めであっても死んでいく方とその方の家族や友人の悲嘆の心を憐むこともでき、そうした状況にある人達との一体感を“辛気臭さ”なしにあるがままに感じ取ることができるのではないでしょうか？

実は、こうした生と死を分け隔てなく認識できるという能力は何も古代ギリシャのソクラテスからアリストテレスによる霊魂と肉体の関係、そして、肉体と魂の再統合による復活を信じるキリスト教についての理解や信仰ががなくても、日本人であれば本能的に勘付くことができるのではないでしょうか？

そもそも、日本人の心の本質的特徴をよく反映するものとして、本居宣長という国学者が論じた”もののあはれ”という概念があります。これは、桜の花の美しさを喜びながらも、その美しさの”影”にある儚さ、無常さを同時に憐れ嘆く、反二元論的な微妙な心理です。つまり、歓喜の心と悲嘆の心が分け隔てなく一つになったものです。そして、その共通項が桜の花に象徴されるような刹那の美しさ。

元旦の朝、ちゃんといつもどおりに病院のベットでなく自分の床で目が覚め、自分の力で起床でき、用を足すことができ、おせち料理を味わいながら食べることができ、おででたい気分で正月を過ごす事ができれば、それは、あなたが正月の今咲いている桜の花であるようなものです。しかし、あなたの命が今でも咲いている同じ桜の木には意外と多くの桜の花がその短い命を終えて現在進行形で散っており、あなたという桜がめでたいと感じている今この時ですら容赦なく地に落ちていっています。咲いているはこの桜の木で、もう一つのほかの桜の木は花見のピークが終わり、すべてが散りつつあるものだ、という分け隔てはありません。自然界にはそのような法則や現象はありません。

日本人として、そのあはれみの心でもって、日本人という一つの和を一本同じ桜の木とたとえれば、いや、もっと大きな一本の桜の木とするならば、人種、国籍、文化、宗教、言語などをこえた、同じ赤い血が流れて生きている人間という桜の花の木と考えていいでしょう。そして、この同じ一本の木から今咲いているものもあれば、同時に散り落ちていくものもあるという、咲くことと散り落ちることが、生と死の表裏一体性を同時に象徴していると認識できると思います。

桜の花びらが散り落ちる中で花見を楽しむ日本人で涙を流しながら悲しんでいる人はまずいません。皆、今咲いている桜の美しさに身とれて楽しんでます。しかし、節穴でもないかぎり、私達の目は、同時に散り落ちている花、そして、すでに落ちた花をも同時に見ているはずです。しかし、死を生と切り離そうとする心理作用が働くと、それを見れないような偏見となってしまいます。心のなかにこうした心理作用、つまり、仏教で咎める”計らい”があれば私達の心の眼は森田療法でいうように現実をあるがままに認識し受け入れることができなくなり、それゆえ、不安にとらわれる確率が高くなります。

まだ桜の花が咲き、散り落ちるまでに、地域にもよりますが、おおむね3か月ほどありまが、新しい年の初めに、改めて、また新しい年を迎えることができた意義を、そうできなかった人達のことをも思いながら、もののあはれの心でもってかみしめてみたらどうでしょうか？そうすることは本当に”辛気臭い”、または、”正月早々縁起でもない”ことなのでしょうか？

しかし、日本人の心の本質であるもののあはれの心でもって、一つの同じ桜の木には今まだ美しく咲いている花もあれば、段々その美しさにある瑞々しさに陰りが見られ散り落ちることの近さを感じさせるのもあり、今現在散っている花もあれば、今既に地に落ちて徐々にその木が立って命を吸い上げている土に還元されんとしている花もあります。それぞれその命の状態は違えど、皆同じ一本の桜の木の花です。そして、日本人全体、更に、世界の人々すべて、を同じ一本の桜の木から咲き、散っていく花のような存在であるともののあはれの心で改めて認識できれば、この正月、今まで以上に日本人としてこの世に生きている事の意義を深く実感できるのではないでしょうか？そして、一層、死がもたらす悲嘆にある人の心を憐れむことができると思います。

もののあはれの心に、ソクラテスからプラトンを経てアリストテレスへと受け継がれた霊魂の不滅性の概念を、聖霊と肉体の交わりとしての命ある人間をより深く理解する為にそれを聖トマスアキナスがキリスト教神学に応用したことを理解すれれば、今咲いている桜の花と散り行く桜の花と既に地に落ちて朽ちていく桜の花の一連性だけでなく、同じ一本の桜の木の花であるという一体性をも、分け隔てなくあるがままに認識でき、今いきていることのありがたさとめでたさと、今死に行く人、すでに死んだ人の霊魂と、今はまだ自分の肉体と連動している自分の魂を同じ命の源、つまり、神、でもって一体性を実感できると思います。

この新しい年が皆様にとって命を今までよりも一層ありがたくめでたく、もののあわれの心と霊魂の不滅性を信じて認識できることで、命の状態の如何に関わらずその不滅の本質に焦点をおきその尊厳を大切にしていける年であることを祈念いたします。更に、信者の方であれば、言うまでもなく、同一の命の源である神という同じ一本の“桜の木”に焦点をあてることで、神を讃え感謝し、命を喜び祝い続ける一年でありますように。

仲田昌史　拝